Railway car mover



June 20, 1961 T. D. STEWART RAILWAY CAR MOVER 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledOct. 28, 1958 j INVENTOR.

L. Thomas Dale S/ewar/ BY WW 7 H/S ATTORNEYS June 20, 1961 T. D. STEWARTRAILWAY CAR MOVER 7 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 28, 1958 INVENTOR. ThomasDa/e Stewart oQI G) June 20, 1961 T. D. STEWART RAILWAY CAR MOVER 7Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 28, 1958 (mm mm l lllllll INVENTOR. ThomasDale Sfewarl HIS A TTORNE Y5 June 20, 1961 T. D. STEWART 2,989,007

RAILWAY CAR MOVER Filed 001;. 28, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 52 INVENTOR.

Thomas Dale ${e wart Fig. 6

afia/100m. W, W HIS ATTORNEYS June 20, 1961 T. D. STEWART 2,989,007

RAILWAY CAR MOVER Filed Oct. 28, 1958 7 Sheets- Sheet 5 INVENTOR. ThomasDale S/e wart HIS A TTOR/VE' Y5 June 20, 1961 T. D. STEWART 2,989,007

RAILWAY CAR MOVER Filed Oct. 28, 1958 7 Sheets- Sheet 6 I74 I80 I82 44 J42 42 42 ca EA 2:

INVENTOR. Thomas Dale S/ewar/ fi F I g. BY 50o 48 W W H/S ATTQRNEYS 3 61W June 20, 1961 T. D. STEWART 2,989,007

RAILWAY CAR MOVER Filed 0C1. 28, 1958 7 Sheets- Sheet '7 INVENTOR.Thomas Dale Ste wart HIS A TTORNE Y5 United States Patented June 20,1961 2,989,007 RAILWAY CAR MOVER Thomas Dale Stewart, New Kensingtou,Pa., assignor to Movet Industries, Incorporated, New Kensington, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 770,103 26Claims. (Cl. 105-90) The present application relates generally to arailway car mover and more particularly to a self-propelled tractiondevice adapted for moving wheeled railway cars of a type in which eachof the two flanged wheels located at opposite sides to one another onthe car are provided with a solid axle therebetween. This device has ahydraulic jacking or wedgin-g action for holding and forcibly turningone of two such companion wheels and the associated end of the axle in alifted position relative to their track rail, and the developed tractiveeffort exerted on the track is largely transmitted thereto by means ofthat solid axle and the wheel at its other end and into the oppositerail of the track.

Car mover devices are designed to provide a very useful function incommercial plants, along coal mine sidings, and at dockside siteswherein railroad cars must be shifted about from time to time in theloading and unloading operation. Shipping companies can find especialuse for them in their car shifting operations not only adjacent butactually on shipboard where the cars to be shipped or to be debarked arerequired at times to be shifted about in the holds of the company ships.Thus, portability of the car mover is essential.

Prior mover devices which utilize a jacking-type action for somewhatsimilar purposes to the aforesaid have the general disadvantage of beingdifiicult and tedious to remove and to install, irrespective of whetherpower-operated or manually-operated and in the former case, they arerarely if ever truly portable machines inasmuch as electric motors arethe usual power source requiring provision for the conventional off-onpower switch and the electrical power cord at each location and alsosome form of straight gear drive to produce proportionately sloweroutput shaft frequency than what the fixed motor running frequency is.

The present car mover materially reduces or largely overcomes theforegoing disadvantages, employing a captive prime mover thereonreversibly coupled to the load by, and introducing its tractive effortthrough an infinitely variable ratio transmission, thus rendering thedevice truly portable and productive of a very flexible range ofself-sustaining operation.

The selected car wheel to which I preferably apply my device forpurposes of hydraulically 'wedging it into the aforesaid lifted positionis the right rear wheel of the car, and I provide an extended length ofcontrol cable harness for controlling the prime mover and transmissionfrom some removed point of open view such as the remote control pointprovided by the brake-operating platform or equivalent which is standardequipment on the usual railway car. From such vantage point in which hereleases the car brakes, the operator is in a position of goodvisibility to inch the car along one way or the other or speedilyadvance same to other areas along the track under propelled poweroperation while conveniently remaining aboard the moving car. Theoperator not only stays accessible at all times to full power controlbut for safetys sake keeps also in full manual control of the brakeswith which the car is equipped.

A feature of construction hereof consists in the provision of a wheeledcarriage for the present device formed vof frame .members which aredetachably joined together in at least one corner to effect easy openingand quick attachment re-joinder of the frame for expeditiously boxing inthe car wheel to be lifted. Release of the referred-to hydraulic wedgingaction, accompanied by release of the frame joint noted enables the carmover device to be readily detached from a moved car and transported forapplication to the next car to be spotted. In all phases referred to,the manipulation and power control over the present car mover is handledas, and expressly designed for a one-man operation.

I have shown certain presently preferred embodiments of the invention inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side view of a railway car to which the deviceof the present invention is shown applied;

FIGURE Zshows a portion of FIGURE 1 in side elevation to enlarged scale;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are rear end elevational and top plan views of thedevice of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE '5 is a fragmentary plan view corresponding to FIGURE 4 butshowing the parts in an open position;

FIGURES 6, 7, 8 and 9 are sectional views taken along the respectivelines VI-VI, VII--VII, VIIIVIII, and IX-IX in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 10 is a detail of an ignition grounding device for the engine ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURES l1 and 12 are schematic diagrams of the transmission apparatusand the hydraulic cylinder apparatus respectively of FIGURE 2; 7

FIGURE 13 corresponds to FIGURE 6 of the preferred embodiment of theinvention but shows one modification; and

FIGURE 14 shows another modification thereof.

More particularly in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the present carmover device generally indicated at 10 is shown applied to a freightrailway car 12 of standard construction supported on two rails 14 ofstandard track. The car 12 has the usual front and rear wheel trucks ofwhich the rear one 16 is particularly shown and which carry opposedpairs of standard flanged wheels 18, each pair being integrallyconnected by means of the usual solid axle 20 between wheels. Thesewheels are provided with the usual manually-operated brakes which arecontrolled through a brake hand wheel 22 located at some convenientpoint on the rear of the car 12 in association with the usual fixedbrake-operating platform 24 or equivalent.

The car mover device 10 has a motor stand 26 mounted to the carriagethereof and supporting a source 28 of prime power, preferably a smallsingle-cylinder gasoline engine with spark ignition. Engine power drivesa reduction gear 30 which through a conventional connection 32 iscoupled to a transmission input shaft 34. An intervening, timing-typecog-belt 36 which is mounted on appropriate toothed pulleys known astiming belt pulleys further connects the reduction gear 30 to a speedcontrol and reverse unit 38. A high pressure, positive displacement pump40 (FIGURE 3) 0n the motor stand 26 is connected through hydraulic linesto a set of three hydraulic torque booster motors 42 which arecontrolled as to their speed and direction by means of a cog-belt 44common thereto which is driven by the speed control and reverse unit 38.An overload slip-clutch can be provided as a precaution in the outputshaft of the unit 38 to prevent the transmission of excessive torque. Asatisfactory make of belt 36 and 44 is known as a Gilmer timing belt,made with rubber or neoprene or other flexible elastomeric backingcarrying fabric faced teeth and manufactured by US Rubber Company, NewYork 20, New York.

A common output member 46 from the torque booster motors 42 has sprocketteeth connected through a drive sprocket chain and sprocket connection48 to a traction drive output shaft 50a. The traction drive output shaft50a hereinafter described in further detail is journalled for rotationin a main carriage frame member 52 to which a second frame member 54 isadjustably joined at the front for relatively extensible and contractivemovement thereto by means of a pair of hydraulic cylinders 56 disposedone at each side of the main frame member 52.

The main frame member 52 has outrigger brackets at the opposite rearsides thereof carrying a pair of vertically disposed hydraulic cylinders58 (FIGURE 3) which are connected for extensibly and retractively movinga pair of transport wheel slides 60. Each slide 60 carries afree-turning rubber-tired transport wheel 62 which is movable betweenthe retracted position shown in solid lines in FIGURE 3 and aground-engaging active position thereof indicated by dotted lines.

A hydraulic hand pump 64 (FIGURE 2) common to the pairs of cylinders 56and 58 is supported by a pump stand 66 carried by the carriage member 52and is fitted with hydraulic connections hereinafter described fordelivering hydraulic fluid under pressure when the pump handle 68thereof is manually raised and lowered to perate the pump plunger 70.

For use in transporting the device to and from a point of application toa car 12 to be spotted in position, a swing-type handle 72 is providedat the front of the frame member 54 for maneuvering the device 10 on itstransport wheels 62 after they are let down to the ground. The mainmember 52 additionally carries a pair of guide shoe control rods 74which by means of operating handles 76 can be lowered to a level atwhich the guide shoes will engage opposite sides of the associated rail14. These guide shoes center the device 10 in moving it lengthwise alonga rail 14 independently of the transport wheels 62; in such instance,the main and second frame members 52 and 54 smoothly roll along the railupon front and rear rollers 78 (FIGURES 2 and 3), the front pair ofwhich is carried by the frame member 54 and a rear pair of which iscarried by the main member 52. The rear frame member 52 further carriesa control stand 80 (FIGURES 2 and 3) for supporting the speed controland reverse unit 38, which unit carries an upstanding zero-maximumzero-max. speed control lever 82 which pivots between two extremes ofposition controlling the torque boost motors 42 at an infinitelyvariable speed ratio. Another upstanding lever 84 pivoted to the unit 38constitutes a forward-reverse fen-rev.

selector handle which determines the direction of rotation taken by thecog-belt 44 and likewise the direction of rotation taken by the torqueboost motors 42.

A control harness cable 86 (FIGURES l and 2) contains a set of threeBowden slide wires, one constituting ,an on-off ignition control wire88, another 90 being connected to operate the for.-rev. selector handlelever 84,

and the third one 92 being connected to the zero-max.

speed control lever 82. At its free end, the cable har- In this way, the

conveniently inserting his hand indicated at 100 in a control carryingposition on the back of his hand, he can thus manipulate the elements 98with the opposite hand to control speed, direction, and stopping of theapplied pow- ,er from the source 28. The fingers of the hand 100carrying the remote control remain free to operate the hand wheel.

In FIGURES 2, 4 and 5, the main frame member 52 is arranged to shiftablycarry long and short parts forming the front forks 102 and 104 on thecarriage frame,

from approximately 33 to 36" nominal diameter.

4 and the second frame member 54 is carried by these front forks 102 and104 in a manner to complete the frame for boxing in the desired carwheel 18. For this purpose, a pair of vertically spaced slide rods 106individual to the long fork 102 is made rigid with the main member 52 ina parallel manner whereby the associated hydraulic cylinder 56 can movethe fork 102 extensibly and retractively relative to the member 52. Theshort fork 104 is similarly supported by a vertically spaced pair ofslide rods 108 which are rigid with the main member 52. A pair oflaterally extending vertically spaced slide rods 110 is rigid with theshort fork 104 for slidably carrying and forming a permanent joint tothe frame member 54.

A piston rod in the hydraulic cylinder 56 adjacent the short fork 104 isrigid with the latter to apply power for moving it in concert with thefork 102 controlled by the other cylinder 56. Their stroke is designedto accommodate the full range of railroad car wheel diameters The framemember 54 has a tapered socket receiving a grooved, tapered pin 112carried at the front of the long fork 102 and held in said socket bymeans of a spring catch 114 seated in the groove. A plunger pull rod 116has a diagonal cam surface at the inner end enabling the operator with apull on the rod 116 to withdraw the plunger of the spring catch 114 fromthe groove in the pin 112 so as to open the joint at will.

Each of the frame members 52 carries an individual grooved roller 118adapted to engage the flange 120 of the car wheel 18 at the front andrear. The front one 'of the grooved set of rollers 118 is mounted forfree turnconnected by means of an antifriction bearing 128 to eachroller 122. For purposes of assembly, each of the frame members 52 and54 is preferably a two-part casting, the parts of the second member 54being bolted together along a line of separation indicated at 130 andthe line of separation between the two parts of the main frame member 52being indicated at 132. In this manner, the grooved rollers 118 arereadily installed prior to bolting together the two casting parts so asto keep the rollers fixed in their vertical planes.

At their lower ends, the guide shoe control rods 74 carry shoes 134disposed one at each side of the rail 14 for centered engagementtherewith accomplished by manually rotating the handles 76 from theirelevated support brackets 136 for an arcuate swing of 90 and thenlowering the shoes 134 to a level alongside the top portion of the rail14. These shoes 134 are otherwise retracted to their elevatedinoperative positions.

Each transport wheel 62 in FIGURE 4 is carried by an axial supportingbracket 138 made fast to the adjacent slide 60 which has taperedopposite edges. That slide 60 moves vertically in fixed gib guideways142 which lie in a vertical plane parallel to the axes of the hydrauliccylinders 58 for operating the transport wheels.

In FIGURE 3, the track engaging rollers 78 are disposed symmetrically inthe vertical plane of the track rail 14, and the car mover 10 has anormal position centered on the top of the one rail 14. When the carmover is being moved along on a rail 14 to be positioned for attachmentto a car wheel, the shoes 134 are kept down beside the rail to slidethereagainst and center the car mover. Otherwise, the shoes remain in aretracted position.

In the car wheel moving position of FIGURES 2 and 6, the wheel peripheryof the car wheel 18 does not make flat surface contact with eithergrooved roller 118; but instead, the protruding flange 120 on the wheel18 provides reentrant angle engagement with the groove in the roller tointensify their interface of contact against slippage. The two points ofcontact are in a plane laterally offset inwardly from the plane of theassociated rail 14 and the car wheel 18.

Each grooved roller 18 is preferably forged integrally with itsassociated shaft, and in the case of the rear grooved roller 118 asviewed on the left in FIGURE 2 the integral axle 50a carries a tractiondrive sprocket 144. The sprocket 144 is made fast to an end extension ofthe shaft 501: by means of a kay 146 and at the periphery it is inconstant mesh with the traction drive chain 48. Thus, input torqueapplied by the engine source 28 is delivered through thesprocket-connected rear roller 118 to a point as far out as possible onthe wheel 18, namely, at the outside diameter of its peripheral flange120. This moment advantage in terms of leverage, coupled with the factof interengagement as just noted and the fact that the roller augmentedby the adjacent tapes on the free-turning roller 122 as describedimmediately following supports up to one-half of the load at the wheel,accounts for force application being carried out with a minimum ofslippage and at maximum torque multiplication. Moreover, the groovedroller tends to maintain its high work capacity without being fouledwith sleet, mud, or snow from the track, inasmuch as it is spaced at alltimes from direct or indirect contact therewith.

In FIGURES 2 and 7, the threaded adjusting shaft 126 is concentric withthe bearing bushing 124 to establish a fixed axis 148 along which theconically tapered end portion 150 of each beveled roller 122 moves so asto wedge into engagement with the so-called flat portion of the carwheel 18. These two interfaces of engagement are noted to be at pointsadjacent to but opposite from the corresponding points ofinterengagement between the wheel flange 120 (FIGURE 6) and each groovedroller 118; that is to say, they differ by being on opposite sides ofthe plane of the wheel 18. The symmetry of these two pairs of points ofcontact in offsetting relationship to one another insures fixed balanceof the device 10 within the vertical plane of the track rail 14 and carwheel 18. Then when considered collectively with the two tandem pairs oftrack rollers 78, the total rollers provide eight points of supportingcontact between the top of the supporting rail 14 and the periphery ofthe supported wheel 18, in addition to any residual pressure of directcontact between the latter two. i

In FIGURES 2 and 8, the cable harness 86 consists of an assembly of theparallel Bowden slide wires 88, 90 and 92, each of which is made of wirerope strands and which slides in a conventional helically wound guideconduit 152. The guide conduits 152 are individual metal parts molded ina common plastic body 154 holding them in the properly spaced apartrelationship and at the same time imparting the proper flexibility tothe cable harness 86.

In FIGURES 2 and 9, the remote control 94 consists I of a tubular hollowcase 156 in which the Bowden wire operating elements 98 are mounted inindividual longitudinally extending slots 158 which are spaced 120apart. In the embodiment illustrated, the ignition grounding wire 88 ismoved by the associated element 98 between an off position at oneextreme of travel of the latter and an on position at the oppositeextreme. The for.-rev. wire 90 is moved from a neutral center positionby the associated element 98 into the opposite extremes of travel of thelatter corresponding to forward movement and reverse movement of settingfor the transmission. The Zero-max. connected wire 92 is moved by theelement 98 from a zero-speed position at one extreme of travel of thelatter into a maximum speed opposite extreme of travel and the range ofadjustability therebetween represents selected '8 speed positions foroperating the torque booster motors 42 during constant running speed ofthe prime mover 28.

In FIGURES 2, 9 and 10, the ignition grounding wire 88 extends beyondthe corresponding end of its metal guide conduit 152 to a point ofconnection with an ignition grounding spring leaf which is secured by aset of screws to the cylinder head of the prime mover 28. The guideconduit 152 is secured in conventional way by a screw fastener 162 to anengine supported bracket 164 so as to firmly anchor the Bowden cable.Appropriate movement of the on-oif ignition positioning element 98 ofFIGURE 9 makes the spring leaf 160 deflect to ground the high tension,center-electrode terminal of an adjacent spark plug 166 in the engine soas to stop same; and when released, the spring leaf 160 immediatelyresumes its ungrounding solid line position of FIGURE 10.

In FIGURES 3, 4 and 11, the constantly operating pump 40 which iscoupled at 32 to the prime mover re duction gear 30 is hydraulicallyconnected through a filter 168 on its suction side to a hydraulic fluidreservoir 170 (FIGURE 11). A presssure line 172 supplies the pump outputthrough a terminal branch 174 which under high speed running conditionsin general, and always under low torque operating conditions, feeds theentire output to the torque booster motor 42 appearing on the extremeleft in FIGURE 11. A relief valve 176 which is normally closed isarranged so as to open a return line 178 leading back to the reservoir170 when the venting of excessive pressures is required in the line 172.Exhausted fluid from the left hand booster motor 42 feeds as requiredthrough a check valve 180 into the next booster motor from whichexhausted fluid passes as required through another check valve 182 intothe final booster motor and back through the return line 178.

One suitable make of the three motors 42 is type S-104 torque boostermanufactured by Char-Lynn Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota anddescribed in their booklet Form No. TA-257, although other knownhydraulic transmission units may satisfactorily be employed. However, inthat make and type, the basic mechanism which is commonly known as thegerotor thereof consists of inner and outer, lobed rotary pump elementsof which the number of lobes or teeth on the inner and outer elementsdiffers by one. Briefly, the outer element is fixed and the inner rotorrevolves around same within the motor in a circular path after thegeneral manner of planetary gearing. The speed control and reverse unit38 in the illustrated embodiment is connected through the cog-belt 44 soas to rotate speed input shafts 184 provided of the booster motors 42either forwardly or reversely or hold them stationary depending on therotation desired of their gerotordriven output shafts 186. A suitableform for the speed control and reverse 38 is a model 142 XR zero-max.made by Revco, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the purpose thereof isto operate the rotary internal control valve sleeves, not shown, withinthe motors 42 so as to set the direction and speed controlling ports inproper relation to the output shafts 186 as they are driven.

It is essential that the cog-belt 44 maintain the rotary internalcontrol valve sleeves referred to in absolute synchronism to keep themotors 42 precisely timed to one another for maximum concerted effort.The teeth on the belt 44 are accurately spaced apart and they mesh withaxial grooves (of the same pitch, tooth width, and horsepower capacity)formed on the faces of the four identical toothed pulleys over which thebelt '44 is trained according to FIGURE 11 and which are alsoappropriately known as timing belt pulleys. Preferably, the outputtoothed pulley of the unit 38 has adjustable securing means making itfast to the associated shaft of the unit 38 and of necessity theremaining toothed pulleys on the input shafts 184 each have set screwsor other adjustable securing means making them fast to those shafts inprecisely timed relation to one another. The three output Spark ignitionengine 28 Briggs & Stratton, single cyl., 2% HR, 4 cycle engine.

6:1 reduction.

1.66:1 reduction.

Gear ratio speed reducer 30 Sheave ratio for cog-belt 36 Sheave ratiofor cog-belt 44 1:1 ratio. Pitch radius rear grooved drive roller 1181.5 inches. Sprockets carrying drive chain 48 1:1 ratio. Pump 40 speed600 r.p.m.

Car speed, max. 47.1 linear f.p.m.

Hyd. cyls. 56 3 /2" stroke. Hyd. cyls. 58 3" stroke. Planetary ratio,sun and pinion cluster 188 1.511. Effective gerotor planetary ratio ofbooster motor (internal) 6:1 ratio.

Cable harness 86 lengthfeet, diam- Overall dimensions of device 10 31high, 56" long,

29" wide. Total weight 300 lbs. Max. linear speed 3600 engine r.p.m.47.1 linear f.p.m. Frame members 52 and 54 aluminum castings.

In operation of the hydraulic system of FIGURE 11, the pressure line 172makes available a continual flow of pressure fluid to the motors 42which in their zero speed condition consume no fluid and which thereforeenable the valve 176 to vent the pumped fluid directly into the returnline 178 for recirculation. Under the low-torque operating conditionsreferred to, the left hand motor 42 rotates in the proper direction soas to consume all the high pressure fluid. Under high load conditionsincident to starting a car against full static friction or otherwise,pump pressure in the line 172 builds up to a point at which it willoperate a valve 190 which is set so as to be pressure operated and openat a pressure slightly less than 1000 p.s.i. for instance. A companionvalve 192 may be set to operate at a point slightly above 1000 p.s.i inwhich instance a substantial portion of the pressure fluid is bypassedby the two valves 190, 192 in a manner enabling one third to go to eachmotor 42 collectively and exert full torque on the sum and planetgearing 188.

As starting resistance of the load decreases with rising speed, thevalve 192 will be the first one to close as the pressure in the line 172drops and thereafter the two booster motors 42 still operating receive aproportionate share more (i.e., 4s more) of the pump output so as to runslightly faster. As line pressure further decreases due to decreasingload resistance, the valve 190 then closes and the full pump output isdelivered to the left hand booster motor 42; this result of the entireoil volume going to one motor therefore produces maximum speed possible.Conversely, the pressure operated valves 190 and 192 automaticallyoperate in that order to place the center motor 42 and then theright-hand motor 42 back on the line as speed decreases and loadincreases. This two-stage automatic speed change in response to the loaddemands occurs both in forward drive and in reverse drive of thetransmission so as to give three speeds each way for any given settingof the Zero-max. connected wire 92. To slow the car in an emergency, theoperator can at will put full reverse torque on the driven wheel;

and the hydraulic liquid principle in the present transmission readilyadapts it to make the transition with only a fraction of the shock, ifany, on the machinery when compared with straight gear drives of theprior art devices.

In FIGURES 4 and 12, the hand pump 64 supplies fluid under pressure froma hydraulic reservoir 194 to either one of a pair of manually operatedspool valves 196 and 198. When the valve 196 is moved from its solidline neutral position into the dotted line position shown, fluid causesthe cylinders 58 to retract the transport wheels 62 at the rear of thecar mover device 10. A needle valve 199 is inserted in the lineproviding for this retractive movement and is adjusted to control therate at which the wheels move each way between their extreme positionsof travel. In the opposite operating position (not shown) from thedotted line operating position of FIGURE 12, the valve 196 deliversfluid in a split path through a pair of check valves 200 in directionsinto the cylinders 58 so as to lower the transport wheels 62 intooperative position. The check valves 200 hydraulically lock the wheelsin said position, but by means of a pilot line 202 they are sensitive toretractive pressure in the cylinders 58 to automatically open so as toallow the trapped fluid to freely escape to the reservoir 194. AWaterman type 661-2 is a satisfactory make of pilot-operated check-valvefor this purpose.

Movement of the valve 198 from its neutral solid line setting into thedotted operating position shown in FIG- URE 12 causes pumped pressurefluid to pass through a pair of check valves 204 into the cylinders 56in a direction retracting the long and short forks 102 and 104. Theseforks thus foreshorten and clamp the grooved rollers 118 into wedging orjacking engagement with the car wheel structure so as to force it intoits lifted position. The check valves 204 have a hydraulic lock purposewhen seated but they are automatically released when subjected topressure admitted thereto by a pilot line 206. This pilot line 206becomes pressurized when the valve 198 is moved into its oppositeoperating position (not shown) from the dotted line operating positionof FIGURE 12, in which hydraulic liquid is communicated through needlevalves 208 into the cylinders 56 so as to move the forks 102 and 104forwardly for retracting the grooved rollers 118 from the car wheel.Unseating of the check valves in the way described enables the forks toso move and fully release the car wheel 18, and Waterman type 661-2check valves operate satisfactorily in that way.

The operations described relative to FIGURE 12 are produced solely withmanual motion and only one of the valves 196 or 198 is positioned in anoperating position at any one time. When either one is moved into theoperating position, the common pump 64 connected thereto is manuallyoperated to move the associated hydraulic cylinders accordingly.

In the modified showing of FIGURE 13 which corresponds in general toFIGURE 6 of the main embodiment, the traction drive output shaft 50b issomewhat longer than the preceding drive shaft and the main frame member52 is cast somewhat Wider in accommodating the same. An end extension onthe shaft 50b has a key 146 securing the previous type traction drivesprocket 144 thereon. At the opposite end of the shaft 50b, the rear oneof the pair of grooved rollers 118 is journalled thereon by means of asleeve bearing 210 for free turning rotation about its axis 121 in amanner similar to the front roller 118 previously discussed. Adjacentthereto, a spur pinion 212 which is formed integrally with the shaft 50brotates at the speed of the sprocket 144 and is in constant mesh with areversing pinion 214 in a manner enabling the pinion 212 and the groovedroller 118 to rotate in the same direction at all times but at slightlydifferent speeds from one another. The reversing pinion 214 is integralwith a shaft 216 journalled in the casting 52 so as to establish a fixedaxis 218, and is in continued mesh so as to establish a cog drive 220with an elongated straight tooth rack member 222. The rack member 222parallels the track rail 14 and is secured to the inner side thereof atintervals by means of generally L-shaped webs 224 which are secured tothe rail by welds if desired or by bolts 226.

The front and rear grooved rollers 118 in the modification of FIGURE 13merely support the car wheel structure 18 at the flange 120 thereofwhereas the pinion 212 in cooperation with the reversing pinion 214establishes the sole traction drive path adjacent the rear of the cardevice 10. The resulting cog drive 220 offers the advantage of improvedtraction if a car is to be moved up or down a substantial grade or iffor other reason a positive rather than a friction drive appears to bethe more desirable. Additionally, the cog drive enables the device 10 tobe moved under its own power to and from the points where it ispositioned against a car wheel.

By means of the modification of FIGURE 14, the tapered rollers 122 ofpreceding FIGURE 4 of the main embodiment may be altogether omitted andneverthless later-a1 stability, i.e., fixed balance, of the device isinsured at all times. In FIGURE 14, the drive shaft 500 is journalled inthe main casting member 52 in the preceding manner and has the adjacentgrooved roller 118 integral therewith so as to establish the fixed axis121 previously discussed. The corresponding shaft 50; for the front one(not shown) of the pair of grooved rollers 118 has no extension whereasthe shaft 50c for the rear roller 118 as illustrated has an endextension by which the drive sprocket 144 is keyed fast thereto. Each ofsuch shafts 500 carries a free-turning roller 228 journalled thereonmaking smooth contact of engagement with a flat bar forming an auxiliaryrail 230 which is parallel to the adjacent main track rail 14. In asimilar manner to the embodiment of FIGURE 13, a series of webs 224spaced twelve inches or eighteen inches center to center supports theauxiliary rail 230, being secured as by welding or being bolted at 226to the inner side of the track rail 14. In this instance, the previouslyconsidered main rail engaging rollers 78 are on one side of the plane232 of the grooved rollers 118 whereas the free-turning rollers 228engaging the auxiliary rail 230 are on the opposite side of that plane232. Thus, the device 10 has the lateral stability desired in itsposition under the car wheel 18. At least part of the car wheel load istransmitted into the rail through the four rollers 78 and through thetwo rollers 228, whereas in the preceding embodiments that part iscarried solely through the four rollers 118.

In the operation of the device 10 of the preceding figures, the operatorselectively prepares it for movement to the point to be applied to a cardepending on whether or not a track rail 14 is available leading in thedirection of the car wheel to be lifted. If so, he centers the device 10on that rail 14 and thereafter lowers the shoes 134 into the trackcentering position shown in solid lines in FIG- URE 4. Due to thesupport offered by the four rail engaging rollers78, he rolls it bymerely pushing the device to point of application. Otherwise, heoperates the valve 196 and pump 64 of FIGURE 12in an appropriate mannerto lower the transport wheels 62 and then he pivots the device 10thereabout by means of the handle 72 of FIGURE 2 so as to raise it to aninclined position and move same on its transport wheels 62 to thedesired point of application.

At a point adjacent thenight rear wheel 18 to be lifted on a railroadcar, the operator arranges the parts in a surrounding relation inaccordance with the plan view of FIGURE 5 and then closes the fork so asto latch and box in that wheel by moving the second frame member intothe dotted line latched position 54a shown. During or after the firstfew strokes of the hand pump 64 applied by the operator in bringing therollers 118 into initial firm contact with the car wheel flange 120, healso screws-in the rollers 122 until the tapered end portions 150thereof (FIGURE 7) firmly contact the outer edge of the car wheel 18.The taper on these rollers is to allow for wear, and in comparison tothe position of FIGURE 7, the rollers are extended somewhat fartheroutwardlyin the direction of the plane of the wheel18, in cases ofsubstantial wear.

A satisfactory make of the hand pump 64 is the Star- Jack modelCP-04-l50, which if used with 2 /2" diameter hydraulic cylinders 56enables the operator to lift the wheel of a fully loaded car withmoderate force, up to 25 pounds being exerted on the last few handstrokes on the pump. A desired characteristic that this pump offers isthat it automatically changes over from high-speed, lowpressureoperation to low-speed, high-pressure conditions dependent upon pressuredemand.

The gas engine 28 of FIGURE 3 is then started in conventional way andbrought up to full operating speed, it being previously attended to thatthe guide shoes 134 and the transport wheels 62 are fully retracted.Thereafter, the operator carries the remote control 94 to a point whichhe reaches on the brake platform 24 (FIGURE 1) and at which he releasesthe car brakes. At no time can the car 12 overrun the dictated speed ofthe car mover device 10. By operation of the control elements 98 ofFIGURE 2, the operator is thus in full comm-and of starting, running andspotting the car at any preselected point on the track, at which hefirmly resets the hand brake wheel 22 immediately. At any time during anemergency situation, the availability of the ignition grounding stopwire 88 of FIGURE 10 and the hand brake wheel 22 of FIGURE '1 enablesthe operator to quickiy bring a moving car 12 to a friction halt fromhis remote position, or in faster order he can accomplish the same thingby changing the transmission to an opposite setting and applying fullreverse torque of the engine.

After spotting each car in its newly moved position, the operator stopsthe engine 28 or reduces it to idling speed, whereupon he unjacks thewheel 18 and releases the spring catch 114 (FIGURE 4) so as to unbox thedevice 10 therefrom.

The operation is then repeated on the next car to be moved.

As herein disclosed, the car mover 10 is shown applied to the rear of acar 12 at its right rear wheel 18. It is evident that the device isequally applicable to the front of the car beneath the left front wheel(not shown) and that if he chooses the operator in either case can walkalong the two-rail track 14 in full control following the car mover 10as it drives a car. The connection and arrangement of the for.-rev.control wire and the control element 98 with which it is associated ispreferably such that when the latter is in its forward position the carmoves away from the operator if he is walking behind, and conversely inits reverse position the car moved toward the operator. The drawingsalso show a three-wire control cable harness 86, but self-evidently afourth Bowden conduit and slide Wire can be added or substituted for anexisting control wire and connected to the engine throttle (not shown)for remotely controlling engine speed. So also the specification uses aterm of convenience applied to the car wheel structure 18 as having alifted position, whereas actually the jacking or wedging action of thegrooved rollers 118 thereagainst is carried on only to the degreenecessary to intensify their pressure of interengaged contact for properfriction drive grip. In such case, the load contact pressure immediatelybetween the car wheel 18 and the rail 14 is diminished by the amountwith which the grooved rollers 118 share the burden of that loaded carwheel but without necessarily lifting it from the rail. In view of thereduced residual pressure of contact between wheel and rail the tractiveeffort in the embodiments of FIGURES 6 and 14 is largely v transmittedinto the track rail through the car wheel axle 20 and the opposite oneof the companion wheels. It is 1 1 to be understood that in theembodiment of FIGURE 13, the tractive effort is introduced exclusivelythrough the cog drive 220 into the track rail structure 14, the pitchradius of the spur pinion 21-2 being 1.2 inches in one physicalembodiment.

While I have described certain presently preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that they may be otherwise embodiedwithin the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Self-propelled vehicle means for travel on a two-rail trackcomprising the combination of wheeled rail car structure having aplurality of flanged wheels at least two of which are connected togetherin opposed positions by a solid axle, one of said interconnected wheelsconstituting a traction drive wheel on a rail of said track, a wheeledcarriage structure between the other interconnected wheel and the otherrail and rotatably supporting the former at least in part byinterengagement with the flange thereof, and captive power deliverymeans on one of said structures for applying power directly to saidflange to rotate said other wheel in a manner exerting the resultingtractive effort largely through said axle and said drive wheel into thefirst said rail of said track.

2. Self-propelled vehicle means for travel on a tworail track comprisingthe combination of wheeled rail car structure having a plurality offlanged wheels at least two of which are connected together in opposedpositions by a solid axle, one of said interconnected wheelsconstituting a traction drive wheel on a rail of said track, a wheeledcarriage structure between the other interconnected wheel and the otherrail and rotatably supporting the former at least in part byinterengagement with the flange thereof, a brake platform at an end ofsaid car and a hand brake wheel thereadjacent for operating a set of carwheel brakes, captive power delivery means on one of said structures forapplying power directly to said flange to rotate said other wheel in amanner exerting the resulting tractive effort largely through said axleand said drive wheel into the first said rail of said track, and aremote control operators device having a connection to said powerdelivery means and having an operative length to extend the operatinghead thereof to said brake platform for controlling the application ofvehicle power from a vantage point adjacent said hand brake wheel.

3. Vehicle means according to claim 2 and further comprising means tosecure said operating head in an out of the way position to the back ofthe hand of the operator affording him dual control characterized byfreedom to operate the hand brake wheel unimpeded.

4, A self-propelled car mover device for use with one wheel structure ofa car mounted for movement along rail means, said device including acarriage individual to said wheel structure and cooperatively, with saidrail means, supporting that wheel structure for rolling relative to therail means, said carriage comprising rotatable means thereon disposed onopposite sides of the underportion of said wheel structure so as tostraddle the latter in balanced, load-sharing rotatable contacttherewith, power delivery means fast to a member forming an integralpart of said carriage for applying traction power to operatively drivesaid car along said rail means, and remote control harness meansflexibly connected to said power delivery means to manually control thedelivery of its driving power to drive said car.

5. A gas-powered car mover device for wheeled cars adapted to be movedon track means and having at least one platform on the car associatedwith means for settably and releasably operating the car brakes, saiddevice including a carriage individual to a wheel structure of a car andcooperatively, with said track means, supporting that wheel structurefor rolling movement, said carriage comprising rotatable means thereondisposed on opposite sides of the underportion of said wheel structureso as to straddle the latter in balanced, load-sharing rotatable contacttherewith, captive gas-power delivery means on said carriage comprisingreversible transmission mechanism coupled for applying power to rotatethat wheel structure to operatively drive said car, and a plural wirecontrol means flexibly connected to said gas-power deli-very means bymeans including at least one connection to said reversible transmissionmechanism and effective to control the power and its direction ofapplication from a remote brake-operating platform on said car.

6. A car mover device for one of two opposite flanged wheels of amovable rail car, said device including a carriage and a captive engineand traction transmission unit thereon, said unit comprising fixed inputand traction out-. put shafts connected by means in said transmissionproviding a torque-boost ratio power path therebetween, boxing-in meanscarried by said carriage comprising a first set of relatively movablerollers interposed at the front and rear of a car wheel in engagementwith the flanged por tion thereof, said carriage further carrying a setof free-; turning rollers mounted so as to be simultaneously interposedat the front and rear of said ear wheel for independ: ent contact withanother portion of said car wheel, at least one roller of the first setbeing directly driven by said traction transmission output shaft andtogether with the freeturning set of rollers defining a partial ring ofpoints of contact with the lower portion of said car wheel, andhydraulic means for clampingly and retractively moving the rollers ofsaid first set relative to said flanged car wheel.

7. A torque input device for use with flanged wheel structure providedon a movable rail car, said device including a carriage having aplurality of members joined to form a frame, a source of prime powermounted to a member forming part of said carriage frame and provid-. ingan input shaft with the axis fixed with respect to the carriage, atraction drive output shaft mounted to a frame member in said carriageand having a fixed axis, means connected between and providing areversible speed reducing power path between said shafts, a set ofgrooved rotatable roller means carried by said carriage interposedrespectively at the front and rear of said car wheel structure ininterengagement with said flange and at least one of which roller meansbeing coaxially arranged upon said output shaft, said roller meansoperatively arranged in supporting relationship with respect to saidflange, and a separate set of rollers carried by said carriage out ofcontact with said first roller means set for independently rollinglongitudinally along a rail.

8. A torque input device according to claim 7 wherein further rotatablemeans is coaxially arranged on said output shaft and in operativeengagement with means fast to said rail so as to provide a separateconnection thereto in addition to said separate set of rollers forrolling there along.

9. A torque input device according to claim 8 wherein said means fast tosaid rail presents a flat surface coopcrating with said furtherrotatable means to establish rolling engagement along their smoothinterface of contact, and wherein said one roller means on said tractionoutput shaft is fast thereto and in drive transmitting relation to saidcar wheel structure, and wherein said output shaft journals saidrotatable means for independent rotation.

10. A torque device according to claim 8 wherein said means on said railpresents a longitudinally extending cog surface which through a meshingconnection cooperates with said further rotatable means to establish acog drive between said traction output shaft and said rail, and whereinsaid output shaft is fast to said further rotatable means for rotationtherewith and journals said one grooved roller means for independentrotation.

11. A torque input device for one of two opposite wheels of a movablerail car for turning same through an output'motor-driven means adaptedto drivingly engage said wheel, said device including a carriage, acaptive engine and transmission unit thereon, said transmissioncomprising a pump coupled to said engine, a plurality of 13torque-booster output motors commonto and operatively communicating witha line from said pump, which motors operate on the line with one aloneor with the combined output of at least one other with the number on theline automatically increasing with increasing line pressure, andboxing-in means on said carriage interposed at the front and rear ofsaid one car wheel and carrying a set of free-turning supporting rollersfor rolling longitudinally along a rail in response to the operation ofsaid transmission.

12. A torque input device for one of two opposite wheels of a movablerail car to be moved having at least one platform associated with meansfor settably and releasably operating the car wheel brakes, said deviceincluding a carriage, a captive engine and transmission unit thereon,said transmission being of the automatic changespeed type com risin apump coupled to said engine and a plurality of torque-booster outputmotor means common to and in automatically selected operativecommunication with said pump, one of said motor means having apermanently open communication with said pump and effective to operateat predetermined speed under a first circumstance and at aproportionately diminished speed under second circumstances under whichfirst circumstance said one motor means is consuming full pump outputand under which second circumstances said one motor means isautomatically selectedly dividing said full pump output with at leastone other output motor means, boxing-in means on said carriageinterposed at the front and rear of said one car Wheel and carrying aset of free-turning supporting rollers for rolling longitudinally alonga rail, means operated by said motors and connected to drive said carwheel, and remote control means for operating said captive engine from aremote brakeop'erating platform on said car.-

13. A torque input device for one of two opposite wheels of a movablerail car to be moved having at least one platform associated withbrake-operating and releasing mechanism, said device including acarriage, a captive prime mover and transmission unit thereon, saidprime mover comprising a unidirectional constant speed spark ignitionengine operatively coupled to said transmission, boxing-in means on saidcarriage interposed at the front and rear of said one car wheel andcarrying a set of rollers for rolling longitudinally along a car rail,means operated by said motors and connected to drive said car wheel, aplural control wire harness for manually controlling the applied powerand its direction of application from said captive spark ignition engineand transmission unit from a remote brake-operating platform on saidcar, and ignition grounding means forming a connection between saidharness and said engine for stopping said engine at will from saidremote platform.

14. A torque input device for one of two opposite wheels of a movablerail car provided with manual wheel brakes, said device including acarriage, a captive engine and transmission unit thereon, saidtransmission comprising an infinitely variable ratio reversibleautomatic hydraulic transmission, boxing-in means interposed at thefront and rear of a car wheel carrying a set of free-turning rollers forrolling longitudinally along a rail, a separate set of rollers carriedby said means at least one of which is transmission driven and togetherwith the free-turning set of rollers providing at least six points ofcontact between the top of a car rail and the periphery of the adjacentcar wheel and a plural control wire harness for coordinated use inconjunction with said manual wheel brakes for controlling the inputpower and its direction of application from said captive engine andreversible transmission unit to move and stop the car and for resettingthe wheel brakes.

15. In a mover for cars having rail engaging wheels, the combination ofa carriage provided with members including a main member and togetherjoined to form a frame, transmission means mounted to one of said framemembers and including an engine-connected input shaft and a tractiondrive output shaft each having a fixed axis thereto, car wheel-engagingrollers individual to a second frame member and to said main framemember, and fork members common to said main and second members tocomplete said frame and shiftably mounted to said main member forexpansively and retractively moving the second frame member with respectthereto for relatively withdrawingly and clampingly moving saidwheel-engaging rollers.

16. The combination according to claim 15 and further includinghydraulic cylinders individual to said fork members' for shifting sameon said main member and operatively connected between said main memberand said fork members, and a source of hydraulic pressure fluid commonto said cylinders to coordinate movement of same in concert upon saidsecond frame member.

17. The combination according to claim 15 wherein. said second member issupported on slide means forming an adjustable joint between one of saidfork members and said second member and disposed so as to enable thelatter to slide independently of said one fork member at right angles totheir expansive and retractive path of movement together as aforesaid.

18. The combination according to claim 15 and further including springcatch means whereby said second member is detachably joined to one ofsaid fork members for releasing of said frame at that joint, slide meanspermanently supporting said fork members so as to form separateadjustable joints between each of said members and said main member foraccommodating said shiftable movement, and slide means permanentlysupporting said second member on a fork member and disposed so as toenable the former member to move independently to the latter member atright angles to their aforesaid shiftable movement together for openingof said frame.

19. A torque input device for one of two opposite wheels of a movablerail car provided with wheel brakes, said device including a carriage, acaptive engine and transmission unit thereon, boxing-in means on saidcarriage interposed at the front and rear of said one car wheel, saidcarriage carrying a set of rollers for rolling longitudinally along acar rail structure, retractable track engaging guides on said carriageto center it on said rail, and separate sets of rotatable means carriedby said carriage at least one of which is transmission driven andtogether with the first-named set of rollers providing, a plurality ofpoints of contact with the top of said rail structure and with theperiphery of said wheel.

20. A car mover device for one of two opposite wheels of a rail car tobe moved having at least one platform associated with brake-operatingand releasing mechanism, said device including a carriage, a captiveengine and transmission unit thereon, boxing-in means on said carriageinterposed at the front and rear of said one 'car wheel and providedwith forks shiftably mounted thereon for disposition one at each side ofthe car wheel, there being means operated by said transmission andfrictionally connected to drive said car wheel, said carriage carrying aset of free-turning supporting rollers for rolling with a car along acar rail, and further carrying retractable transport wheels for rollingalong independently of the car rail and Without the car, hydrauliccylinder means individual to said forks and to said transport wheels forretractively and extensibly moving the same, and a source of hydraulicfluid common to said cylinder means.

21. A device according to claim 20 and further including manual meansfor applying the hydraulic fluid from said source selectively to saidhydraulic cylinder means, and remote control manual means forcontrolling the input power and its direction of application from saidcaptive engine and transmission unit to move a car.

22. A torque input device for one of two opposite wheels of a movablerail car, said device including a carriage, a captive engine andtransmission unit thereon,

said unit comprising reversible transmission mechanism connected to theengine of the. unit, boxing-in means on said carriage interposed at thefront and rear of said..one car wheel in operatively surrounding mannerwith respect to the lower portion of said wheel so that it is in efiectboxed-in thereby, said carriage carrying a set of rollers for rollinglongitudinally along a rail, said engine being drivingly coupled to saidone car wheel through means including said reversible transmissionmechanism, and a plural control wire means connected to said captiveengine and transmission unit by means including at least one connectionto said reversible transmission mechanism and efiective for controllingthe input power and its direction of application from said captiveengine and transmission unit to move the car.

23. In an arrangement of supporting rollers for engagement with astandard flanged car wheel at spaced points on the periphery of thelatter, enabling the load of the wheel to be distributed over pluralpoints of contact, said roller arrangement including a plurality ofgrooved rollers interengaged with the flange of said wheel, the,

improvement comprising the combination of beveled rollers to engage theflat portion of said wheel in line contact in a generally longitudinallyextending direction with respect to said beveled rollers, and meansconnected to said beveled rollers to adjust said beveled rollerslongitudinally to compensate for surface wear of either of theinterfaces establishing said line contact.

24. A torque input device for one of two opposite wheels of atrack-borne car provided with wheel brakes and movable along a track,said device including a carriage, a captive engine and transmission unitthereon, retractable transport wheels carricd by said carriage forrolling longitudinally along a horizontal surface, hydraulic cylindersindividual to said transport wheels for retractively and extensiblymoving the same relative to the carriage and operatively connectedbetween said carriage and said wheels, said engine being coupled to oneof said car wheels through means including said transmission, andboxing-in means on said carriage for interposition at the front and rearof said one car wheel in operatively surrounding manner with respect tothe lower portion of said wheel so that it is effectively boxed-inthereby, said carriage carrying a separate set of rollers for rollinglongitudinally along said track independently of said transport wheels.

25. In car structure equipped with a brake platform at an end of saidcar structure and a hand brake wheel thereadjacent for operating a setof car wheel brakes, said structure adapted for travel as aself-propelled vehicle means on a two-rail track, the improvementcomprising a plurality of flanged wheels which are carried by said carfor rolling along said track and at least two of which wheels areconnected together in opposed position by a solid axle, one of saidinterconnected wheels constituting a traction drive wheel on a rail ofsaid track, a wheeled carriage structure between the otherinterconnected wheel and'the other rail and rotatably supporting theformer at least in part by interengagement with the flange thereof,captive power delivery means on one of said structures for applyingpower directly to said flange to rotate said other wheel in a mannerexerting the resulting tractive effort largely through said axle andsaid drive wheel into the first said rail of said track, and a remotecontrol operators device including a hand-operated power control head,and a motion transmitting connection between said power control head andsaid power means and of an operative length therebetween to extend thehand-operated control head to said brake platform for controlling theapplication of vehicle power from a vantage point adjacent said handbrake wheel.

26. In an arrangement of supporting rollers for engagement with astandard flanged car wheel at spaced points on the periphery of thelatter, enabling the load of the wheel to be distributed over pluralpoints of contact, said roller arrangement including a plurality ofgrooved rollers interengaged with the flange of said wheel, theimprovement comprising the combination of beveled rollers to engage theflat bevel portion of said wheel in line contact in a generallylongitudinally extending direction with respect to said beveled rollers,axial adjustment means arranged in operative relation with said beveledrollers for adjustably mounting same, and being coaxial to said rollersand having a swiveled connection thereto to adjust said rollerslongitudinally to compensate for surface wear of either of the bevelinterfaces establishing said line contact, and means supporting thebeveled rollers and their axial adjustment means in the operativerelationship aforesaid and comprising a common carriage adapted to carrysaid plurality of grooved rollers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS490,307 Philipsborn et al. Jan. 24, 1893 1,206,994 Craigmile Dec. 5,1916 1,309,871 Allen July 15, 1919 1,689,587 Holmes Oct. 30, 19282,409,185 Blasutta Oct. 15, 1946 2,432,156 Hill Dec. 9, 1947 2,607,300Schilling Aug. 19, 1952 2,792,814 Christophel May 21, 1957 FOREIGNPATENTS 87,306 Austria June 15, 1921 1,013,684 Germany Aug. 14, 1957OTHER REFERENCES Siemens-Schuckertwerke, German application 1,013,- 684,printed August 14, 1957 (K1.20h), 1 p. spec., 2 shts. dwg.

